Why Clemson?

We want our students to be great Place Makers, not just builders of projects. The Future is Developing!

We believe knowledge cannot be bound by a classroom or an individual area of concentration. As an MRED student, you will use current development projects in the rapidly growing, surrounding Southeastern states as a living, breathing classroom for the ultimate immersion learning experience.

Academic faculty have substantial professional experience and we also have several leading real estate professionals from the 1.4 million-person Greenville area who are class lecturer-instructors. We also have many guest speakers and are very active with the real estate development community. MRED is an applied professional program focusing on the best practices of the industry.

Class sizes are small to ensure that students have a nurturing environment that allows their natural talents to flourish. The program seeks an interdisciplinary student body that is entrepreneurial, yet team-oriented.

The program creates the educational opportunity for future development entrepreneurs to produce exciting, quality projects respecting environmental and economic sustainability, social consciousness, design excellence and financial feasibility within the risk-reward framework. The development industry is complex and requires leaders trained from diverse disciplinary perspectives.

The program primarily follows the principles of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), which acknowledges that development is a public-private partnership and that quality development requires integrating the perspectives of community, environment and economics.

The program focuses on the “master builder” concept, the methodology promoting an entire vision for a community through sustainable design, creative financing, place-making and healthy communities. A graduate will become a visionary who serves as a craftsperson and designer of neighborhoods and community development, one who recognizes the role of the developer in guiding the different aspects of creating the built environment—political, economic, physical, environmental, legal and sociological parameters.

Alumni TestimonialsDon't just take our word for it.

"The Clemson MRED program also instilled in me a lifelong commitment to the principles of the Urban Land Institute, an organization which has been an invaluable outlet for ongoing learning, service, networking, and relationship building among industry leaders and fellow MRED alumni. This commitment has led to numerous leadership opportunities and posts as both Chairman and Vice-Chairman of ULI Charlotte's Young Leaders Group."

"The multidisciplinary approach that Clemson's program facilitates really has helped me stand out amongst other colleagues in my career endeavors. Unlike other programs that are focused on one segment such as real estate finance, my extensive background knowledge helps me to be able to contribute ideas and perspectives to all aspects of a real estate deal - from horizontal development, to feasibility analysis, the construction process, to the real estate laws that are important to major commercial real estate transactions. I believe this knowledge has immensely helped my respect amongst real estate peers and increased my overall business volume."

"Clemson’s unique interdisciplinary program, coupled with a talented professor base and real world application of real estate best practices truly sets itself apart from other Real Estate graduate programs. My passion and understanding of real estate development increased ten-fold during my time at Clemson and served as a spring board to my career in the hospitality business. The sky is the limit…and Clemson made it possible."

"Clemson’s MRED program allowed me to accomplish my life-long dream of pursuing a career in real estate development. Its well-rounded curriculum allowed me to integrate my background in Architecture (Ohio State University) and Finance (Franklin University) and prepared me to assume a key position upon graduation. I was also attracted to the program’s southeastern location due to the projected population growth in the region. The depth and diversity of the Advancement Board and growing alumni provided invaluable introductions for business and job opportunities."

"With a five-year architecture degree from LSU, I was searching for a school that filled the “reality” gap in my career. For me, Clemson MRED filled that gap. We were taught real-life aspects of development, not just tools of the trade. In addition to the standard skillset – underwriting, discounted cash-flow analysis, ARGUS, time value of money, etc. – we were taught people skills such as networking, etiquette, moral responsibility, and more. Through the connections made while at Clemson, I landed an incredible summer internship as well as a great full-time job upon graduation. I cannot speak highly enough for the MRED program, faculty, and all who support it."

Latest Blog News

The MRED Class of 2015 spent ten days traveling from Myrtle Beach to Charleston to Hilton Head Island and Savannah, GA in May. The 2015 trip continued with time-honored stops and added some new sites along the way as students studied some of the nation's premier resort, retail, office, hotel historic, mixed-use, golf, and master planned communities these areas have to offer.

The 2015 MRED 1st Year student trip to Atlanta included a variety of different project types. Greg Ryan of Brookfield Logistics Properties and Dan Pattillo of Rooker Co. started off Thursday's tour discussing an industrial property at Jefferson Distribution Center. Next on the tour was an introduction to Avalon with Justin Long of North American Properties.

All 31 MRED students, and several faculty and staff, attended the Fall meeting of the Urban Land Institute in New York, NY from October 19-23, 2014. The five day trip to “Big Apple” began with a 6-hour bus tour of Manhattan and Brooklyn with Dr.

Two MRED alumni, Kate Graham Oliveria '12 and John Roberson '12 presented two investment deals to a shark tank committee for the Fall 2014 MRED Program Bull Session. MRED students had the opportunity to listen to two proposed investment opportunities presented to a mock investment committee, comprised of ABRED Directors, Mike McNicholas, Steve Navarro, and Chris Pearce.

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS

"Chris Moses, son of the founder of Moses Tucker Real Estate, Jimmy Moses, was named President of the Little Rock –based commercial real estate company in 2013. Chris is a lifelong Little Rock resident and is a graduate of Central High School. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Real Estate Finance from Arizona State University in 2001. After working several years in the brokerage division of Moses Tucker and spending several years with Healstone Development in Orange County, California and Marcus and Millichap in Atlanta, Georgia, Chris decided to further his education. He received a Master of Real Estate Development from Clemson University in 2011, where he graduated with honors. He is a member of the Alpha Omega Honor Society of Real Estate. He became Development Manager at Moses Tucker upon graduation. Moses Tucker was founded by Jimmy Moses in 1984 and is one of the largest real estate development companies in Arkansas. The company has led private sector efforts to create Little Rock’s mixed-use River Market District, where the company is presently located. Quality urban infill and historic preservation are key hallmarks of their efforts. Moses Tucker employs over 50 full-time associates and manages and leases over 3.5 million square feet of commercial space in the Little Rock area. Some of the company’s more notable projects include the Capital Commerce Center, First Security Center, 300 Third Tower and River Market Tower. Their latest projects include the Mann on Main office building and the Mann Lofts, which recently opened on Little Rock’s historic Main Street, the Arcade Building on President Clinton Avenue and MacArthur Commons on Capitol Avenue."

"After completing the Clemson MRED program, Patrick moved to New York in May 2011 and accepted a position in the Credit Risk Management (CRM) group at Arbor Commercial Mortgage. Arbor is an originator and servicer, primarily of Fannie Mae multifamily loans, and CRM’s responsibilities include asset management of distressed loans and mitigating Arbor’s losses on foreclosed loans. In July 2014, Patrick accepted a new position as a Senior Analyst, CMBS at Kroll Bond Rating Agency. Kroll has grown very quickly since its founding in 2010 and is now competing with the larger, more established rating agencies. Patrick is working in the new issuance CMBS group, analyzing the real estate backing the bonds. Patrick is interested in green building design and construction and earned his LEED AP in June 2014."

"Carleton Nelson is a Regional Development Manager at Amazon.com where he is responsible for Data Center property development in the United States and abroad. Prior to joining Amazon, Mr. Nelson managed Global Corporate Services for CBRE Inc. where he headed the North American real estate portfolio team for Royal Bank of Canada Wealth Management & Capital Markets. Mr. Nelson began his career at CORFAC International in Minneapolis and then went on to join the Colliers Development group in the Twin Cities. Carleton has acquired, leased and developed over $100 million of industrial assets totaling over 3 million square feet and has been involved in over $500 million of industrial transactions in his career. In addition to his current role, Mr. Nelson is the co-founder and manager of Nelson-Rountree Property Group which specializes in value-add real estate transactions and real estate syndication. Mr. Nelson graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2001 and has a Master of Real Estate Development from Clemson University. Carl is heavily involved in NAIOP and is a FIABCI International Real Estate Federation scholar. "h5>

"Prior to entering MRED, Laura was a Production Supervisor for Ryan Homes for 1.5 years in a $700,000 Charlotte neighborhood. Since graduation, she has worked for ExxonMobil in the Commercial Real Estate Group. Working in global corporate real estate is an exciting journey involving challenging assignments and international travel! She initially worked with international expat residential housing. ExxonMobil owns housing complexes in various countries where the local real estate market does not provide safe housing for employees, who are temporarily living and working in international locations. She worked closely with a housing complex in Africa containing approximately 30 single-family homes. She is presently Commercial Portfolio Manager and manages a portfolio of non-operating surplus real estate sites. Sites are deemed surplus by the various ExxonMobil business lines and are then transferred to her group where they manage the sites and handle the disposition of each site. They are a group of 10 individuals managing ExxonMobil’s surplus real estate worldwide. Laura’s current portfolio is approximately 100 sites and covers Texas, California, North Carolina, South Carolina and Arizona. She manages various types of dispositions, which include sales, bundle sales, conservation easements, donations, etc. Each site has a different prior use and could be a former refinery, former terminal, reserve drill site, vacant service station, greenfield, etc. The prior use of each site determines the appropriate highest and best future use of the site and which disposition type is appropriate. Working in global corporate real estate has afforded her the opportunity to travel all over the world and experience real estate in many different countries. In additional to travel opportunities, ExxonMobil is very supportive of continuing education. In 2011, she completed the Executive MBA program at the University of Florida and has taken all CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Manager) courses and will complete the designation early 2015. Laura resides in Houston, TX with her husband, Charles, who manages a wholesale real estate investment company. Together they manage their own real estate investments within their company, Lone Palmetto Investments, where they take full advantage of the booming Houston real estate market. And they recently welcomed a healthy baby girl, Anna Gray!"